Pages

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

There’s a war going on in your house. Well, at least within
your body. Your immune system is much like the armed forces. Without it, your
body could be invaded on a regular basis and taken over or even destroyed by
enemy invaders.

I’ve learned more than I want to know about immune systems
thanks to the unwelcomed invasion of Alopecia Areata in my youngest son’s body.
Since that time, I’ve been building up the defense systems of everyone in the
house. The result? We’re still hosting Alopecia, but beyond that we rarely get
sick. I have an opportunity to reflect on this each fall when we go to our
“well” check ups and the doctor comments on how he/she hasn’t seen this child
since the last “well” visit.

Just recently I watched as an enemy invader germ tried to take
down each of my kids in succession. Happily, it failed. Each child complained
briefly of a slightly sore throat and general tiredness which lasted a day or
so. I loaded them up with vitamin C and gave Tylenol to the biggest
complainers, even allowing one of them to spend a day at home “resting”
(actually watching nonstop TV and eating). Their immune systems were
victorious. None of them ever sported a fever.

Their strong fortified systems
fended off the worst of it and it’s a distant memory already. I remember the
day when a passing virus would have leveled my children, spiking their fevers
and requiring a desperate run to the pediatrician’s office where we would be
told it just has to run its course. The “course” would include a few days of
really sick, followed by a cold that would hang around for a week or longer.
Their immune systems made short work of this latest virus.

Eat
real food. Fruits, veggies, whole grains. If you don’t recognize
everything in the ingredients list – don’t eat it or feed it to your kids.
Avoid excessive sugar. Cut out the food dyes and artificial sweeteners.
Give your body the right ingredients to defend itself. When you load it up
with artificial ingredients, it is weakened simply by the effort of trying
to process things not meant to be eaten by people. That weakened state
leaves it vulnerable, while whole food fortifies it with plenty of good
nutrition.

Drink
lots (and lots and lots) of water. Offer water with every meal. Encourage
water drinking all day long. I try to drink a glass when I get up and one
before each meal. Water helps keep your system running smoothly, flushing
out toxins and giving you energy. Dehydrated people (most people are) are
tired and not equipped to fight off enemy germs.

Get
enough sleep. This is the hardest one for our family. My kids are teenagers (or almost) and their
bodies are adopting nocturnal leanings that make it hard for them to go to
sleep early. Sadly, the school district doesn’t seem to be concerned with
these teenage tendencies and requires them to be on a school bus by 7am. I
don’t have any answers for this one. I’ve been trying to let the natural
consequences of gong to bed at midnight and being forced out of bed by a
parental unit at 6am do the teaching, but it is a slow process. One child
(the girl child of course!) has begun to figure this out.

Exercise!
I swear by this. I know for a fact that a good run can knock out the first
wave of a cold or virus much quicker than any medicine I can take. Get
your kids moving somehow, some way. If they aren’t in sports, find another
way. I used to let my youngest trade 30 minutes on the treadmill for 30
minutes of TV time. I know it’s bribery, but hopefully it’s also a lesson.
Model exercise and invite your
kids to join you.

Find
some alone time. Stress has a big impact on your immune system. Stressed
out people get sick. Find ways to counter that in your kids by making sure
they get time to do their own thing. They don’t need constant stimulation.
One of my kids makes music, another takes walks and writes, and the third
spends solitary time with his legos. I know that when they aren’t getting
these opportunities their stress level goes up. Try to create spaces in
your kids days for quiet time. Sometimes this requires a little
manipulation. My kids computers
automatically shut down for several hours each day, effectively forcing
them to find something else to do. Nine times out of ten it leads to
quality down time.

These days you can’t walk down the grocery aisle without
being blasted by products claiming to boost your immune system. I’m here to
tell you that there is no processed food or multi-vitamin that can even compete
with the five things listed above. In fact, I’d wager to guess that most
“immune boosting” products cancel themselves out by containing artificial
ingredients, preservatives, and dyes.

If you’re a vitamin taker, consider adding Vitamin D to the line up. Research
continues to reveal that most of us are deficient in it, especially in the
darker months.

As winter approaches, take the time to access and reinforce
your kids’ defense systems. Who knows what’s coming down the pike this year in
terms of colds and flus. Be prepared.

I am so thankful for my health and taking steps to insure that I continue to remain this way. Making a life style change to maintain that health and improve on it so my body can be a strong healthy body.

My book is out!

You can buy my book Live Intentionally: 65 Challenges for a Healthier, Happier Life from Amazon. In it you'll find stories, recipes, resources, and motivation to create a more intentional life. If you've read it - I'd love a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Thanks a million!

Join my e-mail list!

Join my e-mail list and have a chance to win a free copy of my new book! Plus get my monthly newsletter filled with tips for living a more intentional life and healthy recipes I've created.

About Me

I'm a true believer in Living Intentionally. In fact, I wrote a book about it - Live Intentionally: 65 Challenges for a Healthier, Happier Life. I teach workshops on the topic and constantly seek to discover more ways to make every moment count.

I'm also a reluctantly busy mother of three remarkable children, one large partially-trained horse who seems to have a vested interest in unseating me, two bossy mares, an almost-daily changing number of chickens, one dog with impulse control issues but a sunny outlook, and 3 perfect kitties. I am blessed with an incredibly patient husband who can fix or build or tolerate almost anything. We live on 6 acres on a hillside in South Central Pennsylvania where anything left unattended ends up at the bottom in the creek (including the children).

I'm currently at work publishing a young adult novel (if you'd like to publish it, contact my agent Tina Schwartz at The Purcell Agency!!) and madly editing a memoir entitled, Cowboy Mom: How an Untrained Horse Taught Me to be a Better Parent and Person.